Thomas Beck Movies

This musical satire parodies Southern living as it follows the exploits of a traveling medicine show that ends up on a bankrupt plantation. It is just as well as Doc Gurgle and his daughter have just lost their show. The plantation is run by a Kentucky colonel. Young Miss Gurgle and her pa decide to help save the plantation by putting on an amateur show in the stately mansion. She is assisted by the enthusiastic plantation workers. Songs include: "Uncle Tom's Cabin Is a Cabaret Now." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Actual footage of the 1936 Berlin Olympics is rabbeted into the action of this superior Charlie Chan entry. Assigned by the U.S. Navy to track down a gang of international spies, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) heads to Berlin, where as luck would have it his son Lee (Keye Luke) is representing the United States as a member of the Olympic swimming team. Among Lee's teammates is Richard Masters (Allan Lane), who has unfortunately fallen under the spell of the alluring Yvonne Roland (Katherine De Mille), much to the dismay of his sweetheart Betty Adams (Pauline Moore). What no one knows (but Chan suspects) is that Yvonne is one of the spies, in league with the mysterious Arthur Hughes (C. Henry Gordon). Yvonne hides a stolen secret weapon in Betty's luggage, leading to a not-so-merry chase through Berlin, and the ultimate kidnapping of Lee Chan by the villains. Plus, there's a murder to be solved, and Berlin police chief Strasset (Fredrick Vogeding) isn't about to let Charlie Chan get the credit. Ironically, Charlie travels from New York to Berlin via the dirigible Hindenburg -- which crashed into flames the same week that Charlie Chan at the Olympics was released (PS: The Nazi swastika on the tail of the airship was matted out by the special-effects crew). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

En route from Honolulu to Los Angeles by steamship, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is pressed into action when a fellow passenger is killed. The dead man was a prominent horse breeder, whose favorite stallion has been entered in the Santa Anita handicap. At first glance, it appears as though the victim has been kicked to death by his own horse, but further investigation reveals the complicity of a crooked gambling ring. The excitement of the "photo finish" climax is amplified when Charlie and Number One Son Lee (Keye Luke) are kidnapped by the gamblers -- and the murderer still hasn't been revealed! The best line in Charlie Chan at the Race Track occurs at the end, when Lee excitedly bursts into a room with a vital clue that Charlie has already revealed, whereupon Mr. Chan murmurs: "Please -- save clue for next case." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The otherwise standard series entry Charlie Chan in Paris is distinguished by the presence of actor Keye Luke, making his first appearance as Charlie Chan's (Warner Oland) "Number One Son" Lee. Summoned to Paris by undercover agent Nardi (Dorothy Appleby), Honolulu detective Chan hopes to get the goods on an international counterfeiting ring. Alas, Nardi is promptly murdered, but not before leaving behind a cryptic clue. With the none-too-expert assistance of son Lee, Charlie puts the pieces together and exposes the identity of the head counterfeiter (which, once again, is no surprise to veteran movie-mystery buffs). More action-oriented than most films in the series, Charlie Chan in Paris makes excellent use of the Fox Studios backlot, which doubled over the years for Paris, London, Prague and any number of European capitals. Long believed lost, Charlie Chan in Paris was restored and released to television in the early 1980s, providing a ray of hope that such earlier "Chan" installments as Charlie Chan Carries On and Charlie Chan's Courage will one day resurface as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johanna Spyri's perennial children's favorite Heidi was retailored to the talents of Shirley Temple, resulting in one of her best vehicles. Orphaned early in the proceeding, Heidi is left in the care of her bitter, misanthropic grandfather Adolph Kramer (Jean Hersholt). It doesn't take long before the sweet little child has melted grandpa's hardened heart, and the two "outcasts" become inseparable. But things take a sinister turn when Heidi's cruel and avaricious aunt (Mady Christians) kidnaps the girl and sells her into servitude in the home of wealthy Segemann (Sidney Blackmer). Making the best of the situation, Heidi befriends Segemann's invalid daughter Klara (Marcia Mae Jones), encouraging the girl to walk unassisted for the first time in years. The grateful Segeman promises to reunite Heidi with her grandfather, but Jones's wicked governess Fraulein Rottenmeier (Mary Nash) contrives to keep the girl and her grandpa separated once more -- until the very, very last moment! Perhaps feeling that the Alpine setting of Heidi did not allow Shirley Temple full scope for her musical talents, the screenwriters contrived to include a dream sequence, wherein Heidi imagines herself to be in Holland and clogs to the tune of "In My Little Wooden Shoes." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A best-selling nonfictional book of the 1920s provided the title for this Will Rogers vehicle. Rogers plays a small town newspaper editor who prints all the news that fits his own homespun view of the world. Against the wishes of the town higher-ups, Rogers tries to clear the name of Richard Cromwell, a young man accused of a long-ago bank robbery. Along the way, the genial editor smooths the path of romance between Cromwell and sweet Rochelle Hudson. Life Begins at 40 contains some great bits of dialogue, notably Rogers' comment after unloading a box of canned goods that the American emblem should be changed from an eagle to a can opener. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a girl whose father was murdered by gangsters wants to marry into a rich family. Her fiance's mother hates the idea, but consents to the marriage so that she can break it up later. However, she changes her mind about the whole thing when it is revealed that her other son was involved with the murder. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

Featuring shots of aerial adventure and excitement, this is the pilot for a television series that chronicled the exploits of a group of specially trained Navy fighter pilots who live aboard a gigantic aircraft carrier and struggle daily to keep the world safe for democracy. The story centers on the pilots' fight to contain a devastating virus. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Test pilot Brian Donlevy works for a major aircraft plant where a hush-hush project is in progress. Peter Lorre is a deceptively shy plant technician who is actually the head of a foreign spy ring. Eager to get his hands on the plans of a new, secret aircraft, Lorre bribes Donlevy to help him steal the blueprints. Donlevy agrees, and the theft is carried out. But while the conspirators are making their escape by airplane, the plane develops motor trouble and crashes--exactly the intention of Donlevy, who isn't as dishonest as he seems. Crack-Up isn't very deep, but Peter Lorre plays his limited role with a refreshing sense of sardonic humor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Great Hospital Mystery is based on one of Mignon Eberhardt's "Nurse Sarah Keate" whodunits. Physically and temperamentally, Jane Darwell at least approximates the middle-aged Sarah (here renamed Miss Keats), but otherwise the film runs far afield from Eberhardt's original concept. As the night superintendent of a metropolitan hospital, Miss Keats does her best to handle the personal problems of her staff -- especially nurse Ann (Sally Blane), whose brother Tracy (George Walcott) is being victimized by mobsters. To save Tracy from assassination, Keats and Ann make it appear as though he has died in the hospital while a patient there. Their plan is compromised when another patient is murdered -- or is he? Joan Davis provides gratuitous comic relief as a klutzy "girl in white." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1937 Thirteenth Chair was the third film version of the 1919 stage melodrama by Bayard Veiller. Dame Mae Whitty dominates the proceedings as Mme. La Grange, a phony mystic who is on hand when a man is killed during one of her seances. The killing takes place in the home of a provincial British Indian governor, and the victim was a blackmailer whom everyone present had good reason to despise. Complicating matters for Mme. La Grange is the fact that one of the suspects, Nell O'Neill (Madge Evans) is her own daughter. Dissatisfied with the manner in which brusque Scotland Yard inspector Marney (Lewis Stone) is investigating the case, La Grange takes matters in her own hands, stage-managing a second seance so that the guilty party will be frightened into a confession. More slickly produced than the 1929 version of Thirteenth Chair, the remake isn't quite as enjoyable, lacking two vital ingredients: Margaret Wycherly and Bela Lugosi, the earlier version's Mme. LaGrange and Inspector Marney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Think Fast, Mr. Moto was the first of 20th Century-Fox's movie series based on the wily Japanese sleuth created by J. P. Marquand. Moto (Peter Lorre) seems to be a criminal this time around, involved with a gang of international smugglers. Virginia Field is a White Russian expatriate who likewise appears to be an agent of the criminals. The adventure takes Moto, Ms. Field and the son of a legitimate gem dealer (Thomas Beck) from San Francisco to Shanghai. During the inevitable showdown with the head of the smugglers (Sig Rumann), Virginia turns out to be an unwilling pawn of the crooks, while the inscrutable Mr. Moto reveals himself to be a special agent of the International Police. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide